To be unwilling to encourage dd do her homework this week as for the past 3 weeks her homework has not been marked?

[chocolatespiders]

Or do I accept that it is a busy time of the year for teachers.

We have been enjoying the sunshine far to much to think about homework!!

Homework is for a child's benefit but feedback is essential-indeed effective feedback is the single most useful thing a teacher can do for a child.

So yes it matters if teacher does not review work or provide some other manner of marking e.g. by peers.

Ask the school what their approach to homework/feedback is.

Don't know how old your child is but frankly most ages would benefit from time spent outside than at poorly set homework and lots of teachers would agree.

I always thought homework was set so that the teacher could see that the child had understood the lesson.

What's with all the "we" - are you a pupil at the school ?
If it is your dd's homework then it's up to her if she wants to do it at home (and miss the paddling pool) or do it at breaktime at school, surely.
As a parent, you remind them / ask them what they've got, but it's up to them to do it.

My dd's spelling tests are rarely marked and her weekly numeracy tests no longer exist. When I mentioned this to the teacher (& the head) I apparently don't need to worry cos she is "doing ok".
Yanbu, I no longer insist dd does hers.

At 5, though, Backforgood, there isn't a lot my DS can do without our input.

Actually, I did make that point when I spoke to our head recently (and with a similar remark to the OP's) - that the home learning required an awful lot of parental support (Internet research etc)

My dd (8) whilst very good at school is usually reluctant to do her homework. I mentioned it to her teacher who said to me not to force her to do it.

We is because dd requires me to assist her/help her and encourage her to get her homework completed and handed in on time. So I do see it as a joint task!!

That's what makes homework so pointless - it doesn't assess a child's understanding if a parent has done it. Homework tasks need to be tasks a child can do by themselves. It's hardly fair on the children who don't have parents doing their homework for them, to see things coming in that adults have clearly had a BIG hand in creating.
PiddlePuddle I would not support a 5 yr old doing homework that needed internet research as a regular task as it's not appropriate homework for a 5 yr old, as you rightly say. That needs to be discussed with the school though (as you are doing). My comments were based more generally on Primary aged children (up to 11) as the OP hasn't said how old her dd is.

Isn't homework for the Childs benefit, regardless of whether it's marked or not.

But if it's not marked how can the child know whether they have got it right ?

Fuck it... it seems tht f they aren't marking it, then it is homework for the sake of setting homework. If they can't be arsed to spend their time marking it, why should you or your children waste their time doing it.

if they havent got time or cant be bothered to mark it , why should your child be bothered to do it , there is no point if it isnt getting marked .

This is one of my biggest bugbears about homework. I understand teachers are busy at this time of the year so why set it in thd first place if it's not even going to be looked at.

Actually I don't think dd2 has had her homework marked all year. Her reading diary certainly wasnt looked at and it took the teaching staff in her class 8 months to notice she had jumped 5 reading levels despite me writing constant polite notes in the diary. The teacher did apologise and said They had been concentrating on the more able students